The present invention relates to a holster and more particularly to a handgun holster with an internal retention device for securing a handgun in the holster until its removal is desired by an authorized user such as the holster wearer. More particularly, the invention allows removal of the holster by releasing or unlocking the retention device only after recognizing an authorized user (such as the holster wearer and/or other authorized persons) by means of a discriminating biometric device, such as a fingerprint reader or identifier.
Handgun users, particularly those engaged in law enforcement, require a holster in which a handgun remains securely held until intentionally removed by the handgun user. The holster must retain the handgun securely during not only the normal movements of the user, but also during more vigorous activity. For example, the holster should securely hold the handgun even during physical contact such as when attempting to restrain another person or while being attacked by another person. But while the holster should resist unauthorized removal of the handgun, it should also permit rapid, safe and easy withdrawal of the handgun when its use is required by the user.
Previous holster designs have compromised at least one of these objectives. Either the holster retains the weapon against undesired or unauthorized removal but is difficult to operate by the wearer, or the holster is simple to operate but fails to provide the type or degree of retention desired for a given application.
Devices intended to provide for maximum security of a handgun in a holster are generally of two types. In one type, an external security strap, such as one including a thumb break, is attached to the holster. However, these types of devices are subject to slipping off of the handgun, or being cut or abraded, and therefore are not preferred.
In a second type, some form of internal retention device is added to the holster. While these devices may improve the ability of the holster to resist unauthorized withdrawal, these holsters have their own drawbacks. For example, Audley, U.S. Pat. No. 1,113,530 discloses a leather holster having a spring-biased locking lug, which engages the interior of the trigger guard of a handgun inserted into the holster. The lug is exposed to be pushed free from the trigger guard to permit removal of the handgun from the holster.
Rogers, U.S. Pat. No. 4,925,075 also discloses a holster having a spring-biased catch for engaging the trigger guard of a holstered handgun. The catch is shaped to allow the trigger guard to push it aside so that the handgun can be removed by moving it initially upward.
These holsters having an internal retention device do little to prevent the unauthorized removal of a holstered handgun from the holster by a person behind the wearer.
Bianchi et al., U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,256,243 and 4,277,007 disclose a holster having a spring-biased finger which projects into the area surrounded by the trigger guard of a handgun in the holster, but the finger is moved aside by the trigger guard during normal withdrawal of the handgun.
Perry, U.S. Pat. No. 4,846,384 discloses a top-opening holster, which includes a restraining wedge that projects into the trigger guard of a holstered handgun, but which is moved aside by the trigger guard as the handgun is rotated forward during withdrawal from the holster.
Rogers et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,018,654 discloses a holster having a restraining device including bosses to engage the trigger guard, but which also are moved aside as the handgun is rotated forward during withdrawal.
None of these three retention devices prevents a holstered handgun from being removed vertically upward or from the front of the holster wearer by another person. In addition, these three holsters do not permit a handgun to be drawn with a simple, natural movement by the holster wearer, since the handgun must first be rocked forward to release it from the restraint.
Rogers, U.S. Pat. No. 4,694,980 discloses a holster having a restraining device that requires that two external straps be undone by the wearer and that the handgun then be rotated or rocked toward the rear in order to release it to the wearer. Not only does this holster not permit a handgun to be drawn with a simple, natural movement by the holster wearer, but it can also be difficult to use while seated or in confined spaces due to the downward or rearward direction required to release the weapon. Additionally, its complex, multi-step operation can be hard to master and confusing under stress.
Baruch, U.S. Pat. No. 5,094,376 discloses a holster in which pockets within the holster contain dowels, which project into an ejection port and the trigger guard of a pistol. The pistol is released by a rearward motion including an outwardly twisting movement of the pistol butt away from the wearer""s body. Thus, overall removal of the pistol is not particularly easy, but pulling the pistol butt away from a wearer, as might be expected of someone other than the holster wearer trying to take the pistol, can help release the pistol.
Marx et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,419,474 discloses a holster with an internal retention device which prevents the handgun from being removed from the holster until a slight inward rotation of the gun about an axis, generally parallel with the barrel of the handgun, is made. It permits easy and safe unholstering of the handgun while also permitting the holster wearer to keep his hand and wrist in a natural, locked, shooting position that begins with initial hand placement on the handgun and continues through removal of the handgun from the holster and on to the presentation of the weapon to the target. However, even here, while solving the problem of a more natural drawing movement, the weapon can still be removed by an unauthorized individual (as it can in all of the patents described above) if that individual knows and performs the required release movements, or, if during the course of a struggle for the handgun, the movements are reproduced merely by chance.
Wilson, U.S. Pat. No. 3,419,728 discloses a holster with a solenoid locking mechanism controlled by a push button switch. It eliminates any kind of special drawing movement by the wearer but offers little personal/individual security as anyone (the wearer, the attacker, etc.) could operate the push button.
Tilley, U.S. Pat. No. 5,449,103 discloses a holster that also employs a solenoid locking mechanism but it provides the wearer with a hand-mounted magnet in order to control a holster-mounted reed switch that, in turn, controls the opening of the solenoid. This holster provides a mechanism to identify an authorized user, but there are drawbacks to the magnetic device. For example, the magnetic device may be lost, damaged or not positioned correctly to release the handgun.
Sanchez, U.S. Pat. No. 5,828,301 discloses a holster with an external security strap that is controlled or released not by a movement on the part of the holster wearer but by means of a more sophisticated user identification device than Tilley. Sanchez offers two release options. The first option is a bar code reading system whereby the holster wearer also wears a predetermined bar code strip (generally on the drawing hand as a ring, band or glove), which is read and recognized by an appropriate reader contained somewhere on the holster. After a correct match is made, the strap is opened (released from its latching assembly), and the weapon may be removed. However, even here, several drawbacks exist. A primary drawback is that the wearer must always posses the bar code strip and must always place it in the proper position to be read. The alternative embodiment shown by Sanchez also requires that the pattern generator (an ultrasonic transmitter that broadcasts to a receiver mounted on the holster) be worn and positioned correctly. In either case, if the pattern generator is left behind or lost in a struggle, the holster cannot be readily opened. Conversely, if the pattern generator is obtained by someone other than the authorized user, then the holster may be released by someone other than the authorized user. If the pattern generator is somehow turned out of its normal orientation (as can easily happen with any ring, glove or transmitter bracelet), the holster cannot readily be opened. In addition, if the pattern generator becomes damaged (as can easily happen to either a bar code strip or solid state transmitter), the holster cannot be readily opened.
Furthermore, Sanchez employs an external retention strap, which is not as reliable for retaining a weapon within a holster as an internal retention device. For example, the external retention strap could merely be cut through or torn away by an attacker, thereby making the identification/retention system moot. Additionally, the external strap as described by Sanchez is not a passive device, meaning that the wearer is further burdened by having to manually refasten the lock each time the handgun is returned to the holster.
Accordingly, what is still desired is a holster having a retention device which securely holds the handgun but permits a holstered handgun to be withdrawn without the need of a specialized movement by the holster wearer and which also effectively resists unauthorized withdrawal of a handgun from the holster by an unauthorized person, that allows quick and reliable identification of an authorized individual, and that does not require an external device to release the holster.
The present invention overcomes the aforementioned problems associated with prior art holsters by providing in a first aspect a handgun holster with a retention device which opens only after an authorized user is recognized by a biometric identification device and then allows the handgun to be removed in a natural motion. The handgun holster has a body defining a handgun receiving pocket. A retention device is proximate to the pocket and is capable of selectively resisting withdrawal of said handgun from the holster. The holster further includes a biometric device capable of sensing a characteristic of an individual, and being effective to control the internal retention device so as to release the handgun from the holster.
This aspect of the invention provides a holster that quickly and reliably releases a handgun from a holster only to authorized individuals based on a personal identifying characteristic sensed by the biometric device. There is no risk that a separate identifier such as a magnetic device, bar code or transmitter, may become lost or damaged, and thereby effectively prevent withdrawal of the handgun. In some embodiments, the holster may be provided with data representative of multiple authorized users so that multiple users are authorized to withdraw the handgun.
In a second aspect of the invention, a holster has a body defining a handgun receiving pocket. The holster includes an internal retention device proximate to the pocket capable of resisting withdrawal of the handgun from the holster. The internal retention device includes a catch capable of resisting withdrawal of the handgun from the holster, and a moveable blocking member. The blocking member in a first position resists movement of the catch, and in a second position allows movement of the catch.
This aspect of the invention provides an internal retention device which permits a holstered handgun to be withdrawn without the need of a specialized movement by the holster wearer and which also effectively resists unauthorized withdrawal of a handgun. The internal retention device has the advantage that movement of the catch is blocked by a blocking mechanism, thus indirectly resisting movement of the handgun from the holster.
In a third aspect of the invention, a handgun holster system for securely holding a handgun comprises a holster body defining a handgun receiving pocket. A sensing device located proximate said pocket is capable of sensing at least one of insertion of the handgun into or an attempt to withdraw the handgun from the holster and generating a signal in response to at least one of insertion and an attempt to withdraw the handgun. The holster includes a computer system connected to the sensing device. The computer system is also associated with a clock. The computer system, in response to receiving the signal from the sensing device, stores data representative of the signal and a time.
This aspect of the invention has the advantage that an audit record of the activity of the holster may be stored. When the handgun is either inserted or withdrawn, the computer stores the fact of insertion or withdrawal and the time. Thus, the holster activity may be monitored to determine whether the handgun has been withdrawn.
The foregoing and other objectives, features, and advantages of the invention will be more readily understood upon consideration of the following detailed description of the invention, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.